Book Review: 'The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told' by Bill Janovitz
'The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told' was published by Da Capo in October, 2025. Author Janovitz has previously published a biography of Leon Russell, as well as performing in the longstanding Boston-area rock band Buffalo Tom.
At nearly 500 pages in length (there is a color photograph section in the middle of book), 'The Cars' tells just about all there is to say about the band.
Author Janovitz chronicles the band from the upbringing of Ben Orzechowski and Rick Otcasek in the Cleveland area, to the formation of The Cars in Boston in 1976, the advent of the debut album in 1978, their memorable Live Aid appearance, and the breakup of the band in 1988 following the release of Door to Door.
Subsequent chapters cover the post-Cars careers of the band, including the recording of Move Like This, all the way up to the end of 2024.
Janovitz's prose style flows smoothly and the pages go quickly. The only times I found myself lost were when he discussed the recording of the albums; as a musician himself, Janovitz goes into quite a bit of depth here, well over my (non-musician) head:
"Hello Again" is the appropriate leadoff track, swooping in with reverse-reverb a capella vocals. When they disappear between phrases, there is no sense of space, no room sound, no tape hiss, like getting sucked into a black hole. The synths enter, stacatto stereo spikes, while another plays a bass line with a flange-like sound familiar from Def Leppard tracks. The cymbals sound tinny and disappear instantly with no resonance. The guitars sound squelched and buried in the mix..........(page 321)
Along with the discussion of the recording processes of the bad's seven albums, 'The Cars' supplies info about a myriad of demo tracks, unreleased tracks, and B-sides that I was not aware of. Some of these songs, such as 'Are You Ready,' are little nuggets of Cars lore, and many are available at YouTube.
Janovitz is good about delivering framing observations and anecdotes about the band members, their wives and girlfriends, fellow musicians, and the scenester ecology of the Boston area during the 1970s and 1980s. Some of these anecdotes have a sharp bite:
This was the time when Elliott suggested that Rick's only solo hit, "Emotion in Motion," was a lift of "Everything I Own," a song by Bread, which pissed off Ric. "Ric got mad and upset, and nothing happened, and nothing came of it." (page 374)
I must confess that I listened to "Everything I Own," and the chorus.......well.........do your own investigation and see what you think.......
There's no avoiding the melancholy attendant to the passing of Ben Orr in 2000 (John Cafferty has a poignant essay about befriending Orr in the later 1990s), and Ric Ocasek in 2019. However, the three remaining Cars members: Easton, Robinson, and Hawkes, continue to team up for music and sustain the band's legacy.
Whether you're a Baby Boomer who remembers the magic of listening to the debut album on an eight-track in 1978, or someone a bit younger who is learning about the band for the first time, 'The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told' is the go-to source for the history of the band. It's not just a biography of the group, but an engrossing overview of the advent of the New Wave movement and the role The Cars played in the transformation of the musical landscape of the late 1970s, and 1980s.
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